Loss
by hiddenheart519
Summary: *Volume 3 Spoilers* After the Battle of Beacon, Glynda Goodwitch is forced to accept that even after losing everything, she has to keep moving.
1. Move Forward

**WARNING: Spoilers for Volume 3 Finale and mild language.**

There was just so much... so much destruction, so much chaos, so much debris, so many Grimm...

Her aura was almost completely depleted. Somehow Miss Rose had frozen the Beast, but the woman was too exhausted to think about what that meant for Ruby Rose, for the only four people who might know what it mean, or for Remnant.

She was so tired... but she couldn't stop. Not yet. She had to fix the city, fix the school, and fix the tower. She had the power to, the _obligation_ to, but she was out of energy. Out of aura...

Being stubborn woman she had always been, Glynda Goodwitch struggled shakily to her feet, standing straight and pointing her wand at another pile of rubble. Channeling the last bit of her aura into her wand, Glynda used her telekinesis to bring the bits together to form the building it had been before the attack. The last of her aura drained away, and the shaking hunks of rock collapsed to the ground in a cloud of dust, and Glynda fell with them.

She lay among the broken pieces of the once-proud city, breathing in a choking mouthful of dust. Her eyes closed tightly for a moment as she tried to regain her breath. She slowly and with great effort pushed herself up off the ground, rising to her hands and knees, her arms shaking.

She had overdone it this time. Her aura was completely depleted-something that hadn't happened to her in years. The strain from the fighting crashed against her, but she grit her teeth, trying to force herself to her feet.

"Glynda!" a familiar voice called. Heavy footsteps rang out in the empty city, and she felt strong hands grasp her shoulders.

"Oz?" she asked quietly, her voice hoarse.

The newcomer turned around to face him, and disappointment took over, noticeable even through her relief. She cleared her throat to even her speech. "James..."

"Glynda, you can't do this to yourself," he told her, his concerned voice not the one she wanted to hear. "You need to take it easy."

Nevertheless, she leaned into his welcoming support. "Thank you," she breathed curtly.

James Ironwood nodded, smiling slightly. "Anytime, Glynda." He held her up with his right arm, slowly helping her walk down the street. She was too exhausted to let her pride decline the help.

"Qrow should be just up ahead," James told her, taking one tentative step at a time, constantly checking to make sure she was alright.

"What about Ozpin?" Glynda asked, stumbling in time with the general.

James looked away hesitantly. "That woman killed Amber. The transfer didn't work. She became the Maiden instead of Nikos."

Glynda, though weary, was not too weak to roll her eyes. That much was obvious! The destruction wasn't just the Beast. Something caused the tower to fall. Glynda's voice hardened. "Where's Ozpin?" she repeated firmly.

"I see you're still alive," a rough, slurred voice noted suddenly. "Good."

Glynda looked up at Qrow Branwen as he approached them. "Where. Is. Ozpin?" she demanded, pulling away from James to hold her own weight. James held out a protesting hand to her, starting to speak, but Qrow raised a hand to cut him off.

Qrow shook his head at James, and the general sighed, standing down and shaking his head.

" _Qrow_ ," Glynda snapped, trying to keep the desperation she felt from showing in her voice.

Qrow took a step towards her. He reached behind him and drew something to make Glynda's heart stop. Her eyes widened in horror. " _No_..."

It was Ozpin's cane.

Glynda reached for it, her chest tightening in grief, but Qrow pulled it out of reach. Her green eyes pierced him, a mix of burning anger and wild despair. "Qrow," she growled, her voice wavering. "Give it here."

James's hand clasped her shoulder. "Now, Glynda, don't jump to conclusions-"

The woman spun around, pulling herself from his grip. " _Don't jump to conclusions_?" she repeated.

"It's not what you think," Qrow said.

"Well what the hell else am I supposed to think?" she snapped, her glare flashing to Qrow. "James wouldn't answer me, and then you just _casually_ hold out his game, and he's..." Glynda cut off, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. "Is he..." she started, her voice quiet and pleading, hoping against all odd that he was okay.

"We don't know," James replied in a low voice. He looked at her in sympathy, trying to silently console her.

Glynda was having none of it, as her fatigued yet angry eyes boring into the men before her. "What do you mean you don't know?" she demanded.

"There was no body," Qrow told her, "so we don't know if he's dead, or captured, or..."

"Or if he ran," James finished.

Glynda glared daggers at the general. "He wouldn't. Never."

"Yeah, that's a nice thought, isn't it?" Qrow asked, unscrewing the top of his flask and taking a swig. Swallowing, he continued, "But with no body and no witnesses except that woman-who's frozen and can't say a word-we can't be sure."

" _He wouldn't_ ," Glynda repeated firmly. "And if he did... he would have taken his cane." Ozpin never left his cane, not if he didn't have to, and he never did it willingly.

"Then you think he's been captured?" James asked.

"No," Glynda said with conviction. "He's too strong for that. He would never let them take him."

Qrow took another swig of his drink, wiping his lips roughly with the back of his hand. "So he's dead."

" _No_ ," Glynda said loudly.

"Then where the hell is he, Glynda?" Qrow snapped, glaring at her. "You've shot down all our only options. Are we supposed to assume he just _vanished_?" Qrow's words began to shake in laughter. Glynda's glare hardened. "He's invisible! _that's_ it, Jimmy!" Qrow turned to the General, who looked back at him disapprovingly as Qrow gestured wildly at Glynda. "She's figured it out! No need to worry anymore!" he finished sarcastically, his arms flying into the air.

Glynda sighed. Qrow was right. She hated when he was right. She just didn't want to admit... "He can't be dead, Qrow..." she breathed.

Qrow snorted, not showing an ounce of sympathy for Glynda. "Just 'cause you're in love with someone doesn't make them invincible."

Glynda grit her teeth, wanting to deny it, but she was just too tired. And if he was gone, denying what she felt for him would hurt far too much, like she was betraying him.

" _Qrow_ ," James said firmly.

"What, Ironwood? Want me to lie to her? Tell her everything's okay? Well _look around_ , General!" he roared, spreading his arms, gesturing to the broken city around them. "I'm no _Atlas Specialist_ , but it doesn't take one to know that e _verything's not okay_!"

"Qrow!" James yelled, glaring at him.

"What, Jimmy?" Qrow demanded. "Life is short and it's hard. People die. People you _love_ die. And sometimes there's nothing you can do about it. We're Hunters, James. We die and it hurts. But sitting around denying the fact that something bad has happened isn't going to help!"

" _I know_ , Qrow," Glynda snapped, her voice lowering. "I know."

"Well, if you know it, why the hell are you still doing it?" Qrow grumbled, but he ducked his head, scuffing the ground with his shoe.

"Glynda, I... I'm so sorry," James said solemnly, taking a small step towards her.

Glynda didn't answer, her face a hard mask of determination, straightening her back. "We'll find him."

"Of course we will," James agreed.

Qrow rolled his eyes. "If he wants to be found."

"And why wouldn't he?" James challenged.

"We have a mission, Ironwood." Qrow turned away from the two, cane in hand, beginning to walk away before pausing. He looked back over his shoulder at the two. "I, for one, am going to try my damnedest to complete it." He turned away, each step bringing him farther from them. "I suggest you two do the same."

"Glynda," James started, looking from the caped Huntsman to the weary woman.

"He's right," she cut him off, her voice low. She watched Qrow leave, her face stone cold with determination.

James looked at her, his eyes confused. "But, Glynda-"

"I want to find him, James," she told him, regaining her sharp demeanor. "You know i do. But we can't let that distract us." Her green eyes met his blue ones, the pain fading from them. "We have to complete his work. We have to keep moving forward. It's what he would want."

"It's not our mission," James protested. "Our priority should be to regroup."

"Our _priority_ ," Glynda snapped, eyes narrowing, "is to find the one who did this, to protect the people, and to bring balance back to Remnant. Ozpin would never forgive us if we strayed from that task."

"But-"

"That's enough, James," Glynda said coldly. She began to walk shakily in the opposite direction Qrow had gone, leaving James alone and looking exasperatedly around the city. "You can search for Ozpin if you wish. I'm going to do the same as Qrow, and help Ozpin the only way he'd want."

"What if he's dead, Glynda?" James called suddenly.

Glynda froze, a wave of sharp pain crashing into her. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her breathing even and stop her voice from shaking as she forced out her reply.

"All the more reason to keep moving."


	2. What A Photo's Worth

Glynda Goodwitch unlocked the door to her house, pushing it open and shoving her way inside. She had her wand raised defensively, on guard for any stray Grimm left unchecked.

Not much damage had been done to the house. One of the walls was cracked and crumbling, a few windows had shattered, one part of the roof looked like it was about to cave in, and the back door had been blown open, but it was still relatively the same clean, quiet, empty building it had been when she had left for the Academy earlier that week.

The halls were practically devoid of anything, living or inanimate-a small Nevermore swooped around the corner, but she disposed of it with ease.

She didn't have much furniture in her home, choosing to keep her belongings at her room in Beacon-she spent most of her time there anyways. She roamed the empty halls of the dwelling, and a small part of her realized this was all she had left-these few pieces or furniture, the white walls, the empty rooms, the silent halls, and the single picture on the dresser in her bedroom. There were barely any clothes in the drawers and food was nearly nonexistent in the fridge and cupboards. Her home had been at Beacon Academy. She had lost everything.

Glynda found herself drifting towards the small, plainly-framed photograph on the dresser in her bedroom. She set her wand down on the wooden dresser and held up the picture. It was an old one of her, her team, and their friends, one of the many they had taken. Among the old familiar faces, young Ozpin had his arms around Glynda's waist, laughing as he stood behind her, a whole head taller than she was. Their teammates, the twin brothers Ryder and Necron, stood on either side. Ryder's hand flashed rabbit ears behind Ozpin's head, grinning broadly, while Necron laughed happily, his dark hair with dyed green tips falling into his eyes.

Glynda slowly sat down on her bed, a million thoughts and emotions running through her. Suddenly, the overwhelming worry and despair she had kept at bay washed over her, and a small sob broke past her lips, her eyes pooling with tears that splashed onto the glass of the frame.

Dust, he couldn't be dead. What would she do? Ozpin had become a part of her life since they met, and for years they had stayed that way. They saw each other nearly every day, even on the weekends, when they met outside of school for coffee and swapped stories and talked about Beacon now and Beacon when they were students. They were partners in their career as much as they had been as teammates.

Glynda held the photograph close, despair tearing through her as she realized it was the only one she had left. She remembered telling Ruby Rose months ago that she had plenty, that the old photo album she kept in her classroom at the Academy she considered home was overflowing with them, and now...

All of them were gone. Her friends from years gone past. Memories of good times and bad times, times when her team had stood together, gone. Years of students and their class pictures, well wished, and goodbyes...

 _Gone_.

Destroyed or buried under the remains of the once-proud towers that were Beacon Academy.

All she had left was this one.

And the aching in her chest told her plainly that it wasn't near enough.

Ozpin couldn't be gone. He just couldn't. Glynda refused to accept it, coming up with a thousand ways he could be safe and alive and just _waiting_ to show himself, each scenario more absurd than the last. The man had survived _so much_ over the years. Why would now be any different?

She envied Qrow, more than she would ever admit. She wanted to be as strong as he was, to be able to pick herself up and carry on like he had done, to make Ozpin-wherever he was-proud.

She sat on the bed for what felt like days, but she knew it was only hours. By the time the early morning sun lit up the sky, she had shed her last tears, but the ache in her chest had barely lessened. It had become bearable, but it still hurt. Without him, she doubted it would ever stop hurting.

But she had to do everything within her power to not worry about him, to set off and finish the mission. A small part of her hoped that at the end of the search, she'd find him. She _had_ to find him.

Glynda's grip on the picture tightened. She couldn't fail him. It wasn't an option. Failure meant never seeing him again. Ever. And she couldn't accept that. She wouldn't live with that. She _couldn't_ live with that.

Glynda felt selfish as she held the single memory closer to her, clinging to it for all it was worth. It hurt, those thoughts she was having, and she was ashamed of them. She wasn't even thinking about the people of Remnant whose lives were at stake. She wasn't thinking of the thousands of citizens thrown into chaos and panic. She wasn't thinking about the lives of the innocents that had been lost and those she could still save. All she could think of was him, and what she could have done to save him, and how to complete his task while finding him, what she would do once they were together again...

It wasn't her feelings for Ozpin, the ones she would usually deny, that made her feel that he was invincible. It was his uncanny knack for defying odds, especially when they were towering against him.

But Glynda had been taught from a young age that sometimes, your luck runs out-her father loosing his job for supporting the Faunus Rights Revolution, her younger being taken far before his time for stepping down the wrong street at the wrong time, friendships torn apart because of one mistake on the battlefield...

A brave man gone missing in a fight for his life.

But Glynda couldn't dwell on it any longer than she already had. Her stance hardening into her characteristic stubborn defiance and determination, she rose from the bed. Her aura had slowly begun to regenerate, and she was strong enough to venture out towards her goal.

Whether she would see this empty place again or not was uncertain. She could be running to meet her doom just as surely as she could be nearing Ozpin's life, but that didn't matter. She had hope, and that was enough.

She'd never liked this house anyways.

With careful fingers, she pulled the photo from the cracked glass frame, and folded it neatly before stowing it in her pocket, her hand resting on it for a moment.

If this was really all she had left of Ozpin, she wouldn't let it go. Not now, not ever.

She strode purposefully through the house that had never been her home, leaving it behind as she opened the front door, never looking back.

 **A/N: Ah, Glynda, always so clever. Leaving on a mission for who-knows-how-long to Dust-knows-where, without any provisions. _Very_ tactical.**

 **So this ties in a little bit with my oneshot, _A Thousand Words_ , where the photo album mentioned here was first mentioned. The idea kind of stuck. The teammates Ryder and Necron were also mentioned in that story, and will be characters (eventually) in my story _Team ORNG_ , which is pretty much ac backstory for Ozpin and Glynda.**

 **Remember to follow, fav, review, and if you liked what you read, check out my other work.**

 **~hiddenheart**


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